Girl attempts suicide during exam

HOWRAH: Fear of failure in a test drove a Class IX-student to attempt suicide in her school in Howrah's Shibpur on Tuesday morning, say police.

The teenager threw herself from the second floor just 10 minutes into the Bengali exam. She suffered severe fractures in her legs and hands but is in a stable condition, say doctors.

She arrived at the school around 10.50am and the exam started at 11. Just 10 minutes later, she left the hall for toilet. "We heard a thud and ran to see her writhing in pain on the ground floor. She perhaps jumped from the balcony," said a teacher.

She was taken to Howrah district hospital and later to Calcutta Medical College. According to her uncle, she was "puzzled after going through the Bengali paper". "Perhaps she feared she wouldn't do well in the test" said her uncle. ACP (south) Rakesh Singh said police have taken her statement.